Newspaper bans brand after ad from a ‘mistress’ causes uproar
Print Edition
An advertisement written by a “mistress” in a daily newspaper in south China’s Guangdong Province has caused a public furore with many people condemning it as vulgar and an affront to healthy social conduct.
In around 40 Chinese characters, the ad in Tuesday’s Southern Metropolis Daily says that the former mistress of a Mr Zhang, who is now married to Zhang, urges her predecessor, the former Mrs Zhang, to give up as “a good man only belongs to the woman who can make herself beautiful” and declares her wish that “there won’t be any mistresses in the world.”
A picture of the ad went viral on microblogging sites and messaging services, sparking a flood of criticism.
The ad triggered an investigation by the Guangdong provincial administration of industry and commerce. The agency later said the ad was “commercial speculation” by a cosmetics brand and claimed it violated the advertising law by going against healthy social conduct.
The newspaper canceled the brand’s advertising campaign, originally scheduled to be printed over several days and covering topics ranging from typhoons to international relations and conjugal relations.
After the ad went viral, the ad and the newspaper were both widely criticized by public and experts alike.
“They shouldn’t use such a trick to attract public attention. My buddies and I are all stunned,” wrote “Liujuanhaha” in Sina Weibo microblog. “Where is the bottom line for the media?”
Getting people’s attention
“Such ‘originality’ won’t get compliments. It is just a kind of speculation aimed at getting people’s attention,” wrote another Sina Weibo user “Mubaoshu.”
“Even if it is commercial advertising, the media shouldn’t publish it. Although the media gained attention and advertising revenue, its image and credibility could also be damaged,” said “Mubaoshu.”
“I haven’t bought the company’s products behind the advertising and I will never buy their products in the future,” wrote “Xiaoxiaokamen.” “It is too much. Even if it is an ad, it should have a moral bottom line.”
“Few people would know this was a cosmetics ad,” said Zhang Fuzhong of the Guangdong Xingchen Law Office.
“This violated the advertising law and also went against healthy social conduct, especially exerting an impact on the moral standards of minors,” Zhang said.
It even drew criticism from public relations staff.
“The ad quickly got people’s attention, but marketing with no consideration of consequences and no regard to morality could damage the brand,” said a worker at public relations firm Ruder Finn who declined to be named.
“Many newspapers are in hard times due to declining subscriptions and advertising revenue. So it can not be ruled out that the daily paper relaxed its review over ads because of operational pressure,” said Li Xing, a professor of journalism at South China University of Technology.
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